The Power of Witches

It's popular belief that witches have
power that has been bestowed upon
them. Usually, it's in the family linage
(e.g.: the "good girl" Sarah from The
Craft, Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches, the
sisters in Charmed), and sometimes, it's
given to them by a spirit (e.g.: the "bad
girl" from The Craft, the teenaged girl in
one of the episodes of Charmed). But as
far as I know, this isn't true.

The power and energy that witches
work with exist around us nuterally. It is
neither good nor bad, and is available to
all. Witches simply know or have learned
how to harness that power.

To be a witch, you don't need some
supernatural powers (e.g. telekinesis,
telepathy, the ability to levitate, etc.) that
you have recieved in some mysterious
manner. In fact, that rarely happens. You
don't need to own a Book of Shadows
that you don't understand, that you have
stumbled across. Although it's nice to
have tried-and-tested spells, potions, etc.
at your disposal, many of us do not have
access to such a collection. You do not
need to dress in all black and whites, and
decorate your room/house that way
unless it has symbolic meaning to you
and you've always wanted to. You do not
need to invoke an entity that you don't
understand so that they can give you
supernatural powers. You need not (and
should not) have evil and selfish
intentions.

So what is the power of a witch?
It is the power to change him or her
-self for the better. It is the power to
collect some of the energies around us,
give it an intention, and re-direct it to
create change. It is the power to live
according to the Wiccan Rede, or at least
the last two lines. It is the power to be
aware of one's own actions. It is the
power to change one's life by changing
oneself. It is the power to heal. It is the
power to destroy what is no longer
needed, and to release oneself from it. It
is the power to create. It is the power to
love and accept what cannot, will not, or
should not be changed. It is the power to
respect, love, nurish, and enjoy nature.

A witch's power exists in us all. It is
simply a matter of whether or not we
want to or can unleash her power.